Kayaks on Fountain Creek?
The proposal actually is in the Confluence Park master plan.
However, “it'll probably never happen,” according to Jim Rees, Colorado Springs urban redevelopment manager.
“We had a cost estimate done and found it would cost about $8 million,” he said. The main problem is insufficient water volume
in Fountain Creek. “It would take an engineering wonder to make it work,” Rees explained. “You'd need to impound the water,
then release it while kayakers were going down. Then you'd need a system of pumps to send the water back up.”
The park's master plan grew out of the 1999 Springs Community Improvements Program (SCIP) bond issue, which included
about $14 million to develop Confluence Park. A kayak run was not in the ballot wording, but with about two-tenths of a mile of
Fountain Creek just west of I-25 (between Highway 24 and Monument Creek) included in the Confluence Park development
area, that's where it conceivably would go.
Rees said the idea is not as outlandish as it might sound. “Kayak runs have gotten popular around the country,” he said. “It
would be a great project,” but added his belief that most city residents probably would not favor the expense.